6830. Teach Me the Measure of My Days

1. Teach me the measure of my days,
Thou Maker of my frame;
I would survey life’s narrow space,
And learn how frail I am.

2. A span is all that we can boast,
An inch or two of time;
Man is but vanity and dust
In all his flower and prime.

3. See the vain race of mortals move
Like shadows o’er the plain;
They rage and strive, desire and love,
But all the noise is vain.

4. Some walk in honor’s gaudy show,
Some dig for golden ore;
They toil for heirs, they know not who,
And straight are seen no more.

5. What should I wish or wait for, then,
From creatures earth and dust?
They make our expectations vain,
And disappoint our trust.

6. Now I forbid my carnal hope,
My fond desires recall;
I give my mortal interest up,
And make my God my all.

Text Information
First Line: Teach me the measure of my days
Title: Teach Me the Measure of My Days
Author: Isaac Watts (1719)
Meter: CM
Language: English
Source: The Psalms of David, 1719
Copyright: Public Domain
Notes: Alternate tune: SUFFIELD, by King, in Select Harmony, by Andrew Law, 1748-1821, (New Haven, Connecticut: 1779)
Tune Information
Name: ST. FLAVIAN
Meter: CM
Incipit: 11713 22114 31233
Key: F Major
Source: Day's Psalter, 1563
Copyright: Public Domain



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